It’s 91 degrees outside and Jason Dady is chilling on the second floor of his latest concept, Roca & Martillo, at the Rock at La Cantera.
Wearing a cap, T-shirt and shorts, the James Beard-nominated restaurateur is seated by a window overlooking a gaggle of kids below, sprinting across artificial turf and getting soaked in a splash pad.
A pen and notepad beside him, Dady’s computer-quick mind races. The chef who was just eliminated from the “BBQ Brawl” on The Food Network, the entrepreneur who juggles five concepts and plans the launch of a massive sixth, the guy who dreams of competing on Guy Fieri’s “Tournament of Champions,” the basketball-tall visionary has a new idea.
Dady wants to open a bougie snow cone stand outside Roca & Martillo (rock and hammer). Sixty-four classic flavors for children, plus signature flavors and a splash of alcohol for adults.
“You can get your kids what they want,” said Dady, stretching out his 6-foot-4 frame near the upstairs bar. “And then you can get a margarita-inspired snow cone and put a little shot of tequila on top.”
The launch of “Ice Dady” is timed for June 25, the day of the NBA draft. The tenant across from Roca & Martillo, the San Antonio Spurs, owns the No. 2 pick. With much anticipation and a 40-foot LED screen outside the Victory Capital Performance Center, Dady expects a crowd and a party.
He knows how to throw one. The Spurs celebrated their 2014 NBA championship at Tre Trattoria, Dady’s Tuscan-Italian concept, then located at Broadway.
In the 11 years since, Dady has expanded his footprint across the city with multiple concepts and enlarged his national profile with numerous appearances on The Food Network.
The San Antonio Report sat down with Dady to discuss a range of topics, from his acclaimed career to the evolution of the local culinary scene. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity).
San Antonio Report: Tell me about your appearance on “BBQ Brawl.”
Jason Dady: The show was an absolute blast. It was so much fun. Any time you get an opportunity to go and compete when it comes to cooking just brings out the best in me. I always try to be the one that’s the loudest cheerleader and shining a light on San Antonio.
SAR: Food Network star Anne Burrell just passed away. Did you know her?
JD: I met her several times. At Austin food and wine. At Aspen food and wine. Simple conversations. She was an absolute gem. A lovely, lovely woman. It’s so sad. She died far too soon.
SAR: Of all the cooking shows you’ve been on, which was the most memorable and which was the most fun?
JD: Being on Iron Chef Gauntlet and being one of eight chefs in the country to be considered for the next Iron Chef is one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received. So that was probably the most serious one. I think BBQ Brawl was the most fun because it was outdoor cooking and live fire. And the chefs were from very different styles of cooking so it made the challenges a little bit more exciting.
SAR: So what’s your next TV gig?
JD: I always wait for the right opportunities. My No. 1 goal is to get on the Tournament of Champions, which is another Food Network Show. It’s Guy Fieri’s show. As far as I’m concerned, it’s probably the biggest title to hold in the culinary industry when it comes to TV competition. So Guy, if you’re listening, let’s do this!
SAR: San Antonio lost out again on the James Beard Awards. We’ve had 22 finalists in 24 years. Why do you think we’re 0-for-22?
JD: I think it’s inexplicable. It’s just not okay. We’re the seventh-largest city in the country. If you look at the early 2000s with Bruce [Auden] and Andrew [Weissman] and Steve [McHugh], we were looked at as not having the food scene we have today. It took the rest of the country a little longer than it should have to realize we have an amazing food culture here. So I think we’re fighting tooth and nail to get that respect.
Every year, we’re getting new and more diverse chefs and restaurants included on the list [of James Beard semifinalists], which is great for our city. I just had a conversation today with our PR team and said, “Hey, listen. We’ve got to keep fighting. We can’t give up.” A lot of it is making sure we keep banging that drum as loud as we can to tell the rest of the country we’re an elite food city.
SAR: Which restaurant or chef do you think is most likely to breakthrough and bring home that first James Beard award?
JD: There are so many, honestly. I really thought that this year Mixtli would have gotten it [for Outstanding Hospitality]. The reality is, I don’t know what the Beard awards are looking for. I’ve been at the forefront of the food culture here for 25 years and I only have one nomination [for Outstanding Restaurateur].
SAR: What would it mean for San Antonio to win a James Beard award, regardless of the category?
JD: It would be a great achievement. Now that you have Michelin involved in Texas, and we have our first star restaurant (Mixtli) and recipients of the Bib Gourmands, I think we’re on that level. It’s just unfortunate that the Beard Awards have yet to look at San Antonio the same way.
SAR: What did the James Beard nomination in 2012 do for your career?
JD: It’s a great feather in your cap. It’s something you can put on your resume and your bio and use for the rest of your career. What it does, more than anything, is it gives you validity amongst the general public and it gives you respect amongst your peers.
SAR: What’s the hot, new trendy spot in town?
JD: Even though it’s not new, the Pearl is still incredibly trendy and bringing fresh ideas. Leche de Tigre downtown is always poppin’. That’s my kid’s favorite restaurant. There’s not a day that goes by that my son’s not like, “Can we go to Leche?” That’s probably the hottest, trendiest restaurant right now — Leche de Tigre.
SAR: What is the go-to place for you, the wife and kids?
JD: Thai Dee on Blanco. Sichuan Garden on Northwest Military is another one. And El Mirasol because it’s close to our house and you’ve got to really enjoy that San Antonio Mexican margarita experience.
SAR: Where do you take your wife for date night?
JD: Yozora. It’s a Japanese jazz bar lounge. The food is incredible. The vibe inside is dark and very dim. It has the most amazing jazz vinyl record player system you’ve ever seen. And you can pick out different jazz albums. It’s a quiet place for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. It’s not like sushi Japanese. It’s more like grilled skewers and composed dishes, but done on such a high level.
SAR: What has been the biggest development on the local culinary scene?
JD: We’re starting to see an influx of true, cultural ethnic foods. A year ago, there might have been one restaurant offering soup dumplings, kind of Shanghai-style. But another one just opened up on I-10, another opened down the street on I-10 and another one opened up off of 281 and Thousands Oaks. That’s just Chinese food and Szechuan cuisine. You’re starting to get an Ethiopian restaurant and Persian-style restaurants opening up.
SAR: You’ve got multiple concepts and so much going on. What’s next?
JD: We’re working on our big project downtown at the River Center Mall. It’s called Mexico Ceaty. That’ll open up, hopefully, in November. It’s under construction right now — a 24,000-square-foot emporium of everything about the food of Mexico in San Antonio. It mixes a lot of interior Mexican flavors. But it also respects and honors the great things we love about San Antonio.
It’s got a 300-seat bar called Dos Cantinas that’ll overlook the Riverwalk. It has a 160-seat sit-down restaurant called Tres Arcos, which would be like your class Tex-Mex. It has a food stall, if you will, that’s going to be (serving) burritos and tortas. We’ll have a classic street taco cart, with trompos on each end, that’ll do traditional interior Mexican street tacos. We’ll have one kiosk that’ll do ceviches, campechanas and aguachile.
So you’re taking all these different ideas of what people think of Mexico and the food of Mexico and putting it under one roof. I’ve been working on this project for four years. It’s certainly the most ambitious thing we’ve ever worked on. We think we’ll add somewhere between 200 and 250 jobs downtown.
What I’m most proud of is that no matter your price point, you can experience what we’re trying to do. If you’re on a super tight budget and you just have $10 to spend, you might be able to get Mexican candies and a churro or a fruit cup. Or if you want to come in and drink some very specific high-end tequilas or mezcal and order fajitas and things like that, it gives everybody an opportunity to experience it.
And I think that’s incredibly important in today’s landscape of dining and food.
